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  2. You can pretty much put it anywhere, as they can thrive in almost any light. The big thing to look out for is overwatering, so make sure to let the top inch of soil dry out between waterings.

  3. I have a spider plant that did super well at my mother in laws and now at my house it is browsing and losing all of its leaves. I water with boiled and cooled water and had it in a south facing window. Please help me save this plant!

  4. Your spider plant sounds like it is getting too much light, if it is getting full southern exposure and is turning brown. Try a shadier spot, and make sure it is not drying out. Good Luck!

  5. I have a peace lily in a NE facing window, the leaves are turning brown. I looked that up and apparently, it means it’s getting too much light? That seems impossible given how dark the room is all the time. It is right next to the window, so maybe that is part? Help!

  6. If your plant is right next to the window, cold winter drafts could definitely be making the leaves turn brown. These tropical plants do like warm temps, so you might try moving it away from the window during cold months.

  7. I have a new Flamingo plant with lots of “flowers”
    I have searched and found it is a low light plant, can I put it in a north window ? Lots of light comes in as I live in Tucson, AZ.
    I don’t want to loose the plant as it was a gift. Please let me know what you think.
    Thank you.

  8. Hi Grace,

    Flamingo flower plants (aka anthuriums) generally like a decent amount of light (especially for blooming) but NOT direct sunlight. A northern exposure could be perfect, as long as the plant isn’t right in the window receiving direct sunlight. Hope the helps!

  9. I have a NE facing window in my room where I keep most of my plants. I just got a pilea peperomioides and a monstera deliciosa and have them about 2-3 feet away from the window… will they be ok here? I know that northern exposure is low light but I think since it is NE they should be ok. I also have a golden pothos, a scindapsus pictus, and a lemon lime philodendron on a shelf about 5 feet back from this same window, which I consider fairly low light (although I could read a book here almost all day), and they seem to be doing fine, I just water them a bit less often.

  10. Hi Sydney,
    It seems like your plants should do ok where you put them – getting decent, indirect light. The best thing to do is just watch them closely the first few weeks to check for signs of distress from either too much light/heat or too little light, and move the plants if necessary.

  11. Thank You
    This article has educated me on where in my home is best for plants which require specific light conditions, and this is very important since I am just starting to do indoor gardening to go with my outdoor gardening.

    Jeff

  12. Glad you found the article useful, Jeff – very best of luck with your new indoor gardening endeavors!!!

  13. Hi!

    I have a money tree. I know it is supposed to be near a south facing window. Do I have to open my curtains as well? They are semi sheer. I ask because my plants leaves are turning brown and wilting. Thanks!

  14. Browning and wilting sounds like it could be not enough water. Maybe in conjunction with too much light. Are the leaves browning in a crispy kind of way or a turning to mush kind of way? Crisping would indicate not enough water, whereas yellowing and then mushing would indicate too much water.

  15. My peace lilly literally went from green leaves to a few turning yellow overnight. I removed it from my NW facing window bc it gets a lot of light and I was worried it was too intense. I don’t think water is an issue b/c I haven’t been overwatering. I moved it to my desk which is about a foot away from the window and has more shade. this is all so overwhelming bc my windows are SE, SW and NW and everything i read is specific to N, S, E, W. Im super new to the plant world. not sure what to do. thank you in advance and glad I found this article.

    ut i’m being pt. I’m confused about lighting for my peace lily. I have 3 different facing windows:

  16. Hi Frances, yellowing leaves on a peace lily can be from a few causes. If the leaves turning yellow are at the bottom of the plant, this is totally expected, as that’s how peace lilies grow – new green foliage emerging in the top/from the middle of the plant, and older leaves dying off at the bottom. Simply cut off the dying leaves at the bottom as they yellow out. If the leaves are not at the bottom of the plant, your plant could be getting too much light. Peace lilies don’t like too much light, especially direct light, so pulling it out of the window is a good move on your part. You may want to see how it does for awhile in its new spot away from direct light. Overwatering can also cause yellowing, as you mention. Water your peace lily when the leaves just begin to sag (not total wilting, just a bit thirsty-looking). It can be frustrating trying to determine the cause of plant problems, we know. I’d try changing one condition at a time and waiting a bit to see the effect, and then try another action if the first one didn’t work, so you can try to narrow down the issue and solve it.

  17. Help! I have two calatheas and a maranta “lemon lime.” I invested in a humidifier, so I know they have the right humidity. I’m just concerned about my west facing living room window. Would it be ok if it’s covered with a sheer curtain? They’re against a wall facing north. I’m just concerned it’ll be too much light for it and don’t want them to lose their color or crisp even more!

  18. The best thing to do is to carefully monitor your plants to make sure they don’t get sunburned in that spot. These plants like bright, indirect light, so they don’t want to be directly in the path of that afternoon western sun. If you move them back from getting direct light you should be fine. With a sheer panel, it’s hard to know how much light would be blocked, but you could try it and monitor closely the results. Cheers!

  19. There is alot of info about straight North, East, South and West facing, but info on alternatives such as NE SE etc is virtually non existent.

    I have a SE facing window with Chamaedorea elegans, Cactus Euphorbia and fishtail fern.

    Will these plants do well in this orientation? Thanks

  20. Hi Duncan,

    A southeast exposure should be good for the Chamaedorea elegans, as morning light, but not a lot of direct light, is its preferred growing condition. This can also be a good orientation for the Fishtail Fern, as it can tolerate lower light than a lot of indoor plants. I think you may need some more light for your Cactus Euphorbia, depending on how much light you get over the course of a day. I’d just watch the plants carefully to see how they respond to their location, and move if necessary. Hope this helps!

  21. Hi,
    Thanks for the tips. My Monstera plant is currently in an east facing window , up against the window. Do you think I should move it a few feet back from the window or leave it where it is? It’s only been there about 2 days now.

    Prior to that, it was sitting between the windows and doing well but I noticed the new leaf was stretching toward the sunnier side. Not quite sure what the best idea here is .

  22. You can leave it in the window and see if it starts to look scorched after a couple of weeks (and if not, leave it in its new home), or you can put it back where it was and just rotate your plant every so often so that the growth occurs evenly around the plant. Plants will always grow toward the light, so you may need to rotate it occasionally even in its new spot.

  23. Hi! My watermelon peperomia that I purchased two weeks ago just lost 4 leaves in the last day. Yesterday there was no bad sign besides the loss of 1, and today I looked and 3 wilted. All smaller/newer leaves. The plant is on a shelf about 5 feet from a west facing window with a couple of hours of afternoon sunlight. About 3 feet from humidifier. I’ve watered it only once since bringing it home. I read that the wilted leaves are a sign of root rot. Should I move it to the south facing window with some of my other plants just to be safe? Or is this, in fact, a sign of root rot? In which case, is it possible I purchased it having already been overwatered?

  25. Hi. My monstera deliosa has a three new leaves that had not unfurled for a couple months. I noticed a root sticking out of the bottom of the pot and repotted with new soil (half orhid mix and half potting soil for houseplants). The reason I repotted with new soil was because of root rot. I purchased the plant a while ago from a grocery store. It was root bound and a lot of root rot. The leaves has unfurl just a little since repotting about 2 weeks ago. Now some of the younger leaves are yellow and droppy. The large dark green leaves are not flat and curling a bit. Couple of the medium size leaves are lighter green and shows signs of yellowing. I had not water the plant since repotting, the soil seem moist but not soggy. The plant is currently situated in the brightest room with a NW window but the plant is not near the window. Prior to moving to its current location, it was sitting in my kitchen across from a East facing window. Would like to know what is it I am doing wrong and how to remedy. Thank you!

  26. Okay, my wife insists on placing plants directly in front of the patio door since it’s the only spot, she says, that gets the best sun. I explained to her that if she places them just off to the side, away from the foot traffic, the plants will do just fine since the sun still permeates the area. Help me here. I’ve asked her to buy plants for the house not a house for the plants. ugh!

  27. Ha Ha! Thanks for inviting us into the middle of your friendly family discussion 😉 Depending on the plant, you and your wife could both be right (not the answer you were hoping for, I bet). Some plants really do need direct sunlight, but most houseplants can thrive in indirect, bright light. If your plants are in the way of foot traffic, the easiest solution is to move them a bit off to the side and see how the plants tolerate slightly less light. Most plants won’t suffer from a slight change in light conditions, although you might have to turn your plants every few weeks to combat the effects of heliotropism (growing toward the sun). Good luck, and may your home remain forever harmonious and lush!

  28. Hey Ashley,
    I have 1 large South facing window and 2 smaller East facing windows. They are both surrounded by an 8ft wide wraparound porch on the outside. How does this affect my lighting? The windows still seem bright but the whole porch is shaded. It’s very confusing trying to figure out which plants will work for these windows. Thank you!

  29. Hi Whitney,
    Yes, this is not a simple, straightforward issue! Sounds like you may have medium-to-bright indirect light in the situation you describe. The best way to approach this, I think, is as an experiment, trying different plants there and seeing what does best. I would probably not put plants that really do need a ton of light there, since the porch will block some light for sure, but it doesn’t sound like a low-light situation either, so there should be a bunch of plants that could do well there. Hope that helps at least a bit!

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